Vinyl – It’s not just for breakfast anymore.

The funeral for vinyl records was held thirty years ago, but something of a resurrection is under way and we here at Stephen Arnold Music know why.

Nothing sounds like vinyl. An analog recording has a quality, a warmth and expansiveness, that digital just can’t equal.

For those of you too young to remember what it’s like to drop a needle on a record, it’s hard to explain how it turned the act of listening into a sacred ritual, something requiring care and attention, but you may get your turn yet. According to the Wall Street Journal, while CD sales fell 5% last year, sales of vinyl records grew by 36%. Everything old is new, again. Hipsters are buying them like hotcakes.

We never gave up on vinyl. It’s not just the quality of the sound that we love so much, but the fact that an album is an actual thing. Its size allows for artwork that can’t be effectively shrunk down to fit on a CD jewel box. It has a weight that feels like it matters. Nothing about vinyl says disposable.

That’s why we released our own vinyl LP last year, “Sonic Branding”. We took special care to create a package that provided the perfect visual accompaniment to the music it contained. If you have it, but don’t have a record player, run out to Target and buy one (or just pop the companion CD into your player if you must). Put on your headphones (the kind with the RCA jack) and pour a glass of your favorite beverage. We suggest a nice single malt scotch. Then, let those warm tones carry you away on a cloud of sonic bliss.

Don’t take our word for it. Check out these recent articles about the vinyl revival: